Chapter 1 Introduction

 

1.1 Research Motivation

Despite te the fact that interpreting activities and theories have developed rapidly after theSecond World War, interpreting activity always takes an insignificant place comparing withtranslating. When we review the translation history, many well-known translators rush into ourmind, but few interpreters. A lot of amateur think that an eligible interpreter is the person whoknows a foreign language and works only as a reproducer, whereas they don’t know that whosemisunderstanding toward source speech might reflect on the bilateral relationship, or even giverise to a conflict. The formal interpreting studies put emphasis mainly on linguistics or the roleplayed by interpreters. While to discuss in details, researches may contain every aspect fromlexical, grammar or structure in source speech and target speech. It is our present situation thatwe can not easily find some papers on specific interpreting from the perspective of cognition in academic journals, let alone the monograph. Thus, specific international business negotiationinterpreting research from the angle of the interpreter's psychology especially the application ofPiaget’s schema theory should be more important than the ever before.

Interpreting is generally regarded as a practice-based profession, yet few researches havebeen done on the process of specific international business negotiation interpreting, on how theinterpreter successfully accomplishes negotiations. Thus in this thesis, by introducing Piaget’sschema theory, an important conception in psychological fields into the research of internationalbusiness negotiation interpreting process, the author intends to testify that the appropriate wayemployed by interpreter to activate schemata will be facilitative for a win-win negotiation with aharmonious atmosphere. With a minute literature review, the author demonstrates the previousresearches about interpretation and the development of schema theory, from which the authorgains some enlightenment on how to conduct an interpreting study from a new point of view.Actually, the success of interpreting activity relies mainly on disposal of utterances, to which theinterpreters should pay attention in her/his endeavors. Since cognitive schema theory is used todeal with apprehension problem, there is a feasibility to apply Piaget’s schema theory tointernational business negotiation interpreting studies. On considering this fact, sucking upinspiration from schema theory employed in previous researches, the author makes an attempt atproving the staple role of Piaget’s schema theory in specific international business interpretingdiscourse analysis.

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1.2 Research Methodology

On the whole, the combination of theoretical formulation and practical demonstration aretaken on in this paper.?

?The description about interpreting and schema theory, a particular research about Piaget’sschema theory consisting of assimilation, accommodation and equilibration, as well as thecomparison between Piaget’s schema theory and modern schema theory all fall into the samecategory of theoretical formulation.

?Based on psycholinguistics and interpretation fields, this thesis dwells on the practicalexplanation by analyzing the facilitative function of Piaget’s schema theory in each importantstep of specific international business negotiation interpreting process between TYTFInternational Environment Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd and Swiss Carbon Alliance Holding AGCo., Ltd. Meanwhile, Explanations and examples provided in this paper clarify that Piaget’sschema theory could contribute to a successful negotiation.

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?Chapter 2 Literature Review

 

2.1 The Comparison of Interpretation Research at Home and Abroad

In the following paragraphs, the comparison of interpretation research will be demonstratedfrom five facets including the field, focus, methodology and team of interpretation research aswell as theoretical framework. Thus we will have a general view of interpretation research fromseveral decades before to this present, and get to know that where we need to pay attention to orwhere should be discussed deeply.

?2.1.1 Research Field

For one thing, in terms of the application setting of interpreting activities, the Westernresearchers have had a deep exploration in the conference interpreting and paid earlier attentionto many other aspects at the same time, such as interpreting on judicial adjudication, medicalcare, education and other community interpreting. In this sense, studies are gaining more andmore attentions, thus a series of valuable achievements have been made (Carret al., 1997;Brunette et al., 2003). While in China, the scope of interpreting researches is relatively muchsmaller except for the research about particularity of court interpreting (李育明，2003; 王建、楊炳鈞，2007). The objects of interpretation researches and teaching mainly lie in meetings orother kinds of communication activities, hardly have those community interpreting activitiesmentioned above been touched upon.

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2.2 The Development of Schema Research

Schema is a staple conception in cognitive psychology. It is a way to embody how we saveand process our knowledge toward outside world no matter how to understand language or reactto the events happened. Without schema, it is hard for us to imagine how to comprehend andmemorize the source speech (SS), and how the target speech (TS) is expressed to both parties inan acceptable way. After reviewing of schema researches, we will have a command of whatphases schema study has experienced.?

2.2.1 Schema Research Overseas

Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, used the concept of schema first in the 18thcentury.Bartlett is the person who brought the concept of schema into the field of psychology. As early as1932, he took schema as the way of human beings’ memorization. However, from the origin ofschema theory, related studies can be tracked back to more earlier days, for Gestalt psychologyand Ausubel’s assimilation theory of cognitive structure have a very close relationship withschema theory.?

?Modern schema theory brought forth in the middle of 70s after the naissance of cognitivepsychology. The founder is the researcher Bartlett, while the main representatives are Rumelhartand Minsky, who tried to explain cognitive phenomena by dint of schemata and describe thenature, feature and structure of schemata. Existing in a form of general expectation, schematarealize the ability of prediction and control toward things through guiding the individuals’perception, memorization and reasoning processes. Anderson believed that, human beings couldbuild a category quickly based on extracted psychological correlation from such an environment,which is called schema. Rumelhart, the U.S. expert on artificial intelligence field, definedschemata as “interacted knowledge structure” or “blocks that constitute human cognition”, whichare hierarchical in people’s long term memory. Besides, he suggested that schema existed alreadyin human mind would have an effect on or take control of their understanding of newinformation, so that people always tried to link the new things to the knowledge they alreadyknown to understand new things or fresh information.

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?Chapter 3 Piaget’s Schema Theory..................11

3.1 Assimilation...................11

3.2 Accommodation...................12

Chapter 4 The Application of Piaget’s Schema Theory in Discourse Analysis ofInterpreting in International Business Negotiation................16

4.1 Presentation of Ideas..................16?

4.1.1 Stating Status Quo..................16?

Chapter 5 Conclusion.................32

5.1 Finding.................32

5.2 Significance..................32?

 

Chapter 4 The Application of Piaget’ Schema Theory in DiscourseAnalysis of Interpreting in International Business Negotiation

 

?4.1 Presentation of Ideas

At the very beginning of each negotiation, both of negotiation parties need to state whatkind of situation they have and what the aim they need to fulfill. Thus in the process ofinternational business negotiation interpreting, an interpreter begins her/his apprehension with abrief analysis about what have been presented by one negotiation party. The interpreter availher/his mental schemata to accomplish apprehension, which refers to the process ofunderstanding those meaningful utterances. Piaget’ schema theory usually helps both parties toget the knowledge about the information about each other, so it could facilitate the process ofpresenting ideas.?

Usually, the interpreter collects all the linguistic units he needs to complete the sense ofwhat she or he is listening and try to understand what is the meaning conveyed by onenegotiation party. However, the interpreter acts in a different way, she or he must always try toproduce a speech even when the elements and cues are insufficient. In interpreting apprehension,the assimilation of the input information can activate relevant schemata stored in the memory. Inturn, the schemata to be activated will help express the status quo clearly and prevent from somemisunderstanding between two negotiation parties.

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?Chapter 5 Conclusion

 

?5.1 Finding

The aim of this study is to analyze the role of Piaget’s schema theory in specificinternational business negotiation interpreting process. In this research, it has been found that thecharacteristics of Piaget’s schema theory makes itself feasible in interpreting research. Schema,the mental representation of knowledge stored in memory, is the prior background knowledge onwhich the interpreter can depend in the course of interpreting. Schemata are benefit to make thepresentation to be acceptable to both parties, analyze the divergence between each other, figureout the way to deal with the problem and obtain a harmonious negotiation. In addition, byunderstanding the facilitative role played by schemata, the interpreter should consciouslyactivate schemata possessed in interpreting activity, thus a contented goal will be achieved.?

Being rising up in different cultures, negotiators in China and Western countries havedivergent schemata. If the interpreter looks down upon schemata divergent between both parties,misunderstanding, incomplete understanding and even severe contradiction are most likely tocome forth. Therefore, the interpreter could act as a mediator to eliminate the influence bymodifying those divergent schemata via assimilation, accommodation and equilibration.

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